Shooting Star: Teen wins top NRA youth award

(Press Staff Photo by C.P. Thompson)Tatten Allsup aims his Savage BTVLS .22 LR at a High School Rodeo shooting event in Payson, Ariz. Allsup began shooting at age 4 and entered his first competition at age 11. He recently received the National Rifle Association Outstanding Achievement Youth Award and was named to the National Youth Shooting Sports Ambassador Program.

For Tatten Allsup, shooting has been part of his life since since he was 4. Now 18, not only has he competed in several national shooting competitions and earned extra cash from his hobby, it has made Tatten who he is today.

“Shooting is not just about shooting guns,” he said. “It has given me focus, helped build my character and given me a determination to finish things.”

Tatten’s mother, Tasha Allsup, said she’s seen how the sport has taught her son dedication.

Shooting has not only helped make Tatten the person he is today, but it has also helped him financially. Last month, he was awarded $5,000 after winning the National Rifle Association Outstanding Achievement Youth Award. He received another $2,000 after being named to the National Youth Shooting Sports Ambassador Program.

To win the youth award is no walk in the park. To qualify, Tatten had to participate in several NRA competitions, events and meetings. He also had to be in a shooting club, visit a firearm museum and write a 1,000-word essay.

Tatten begins his ambassador term next year. Being an ambassador for the NRA means he must represent the organization at national events, teach kids about the sport, write articles and more.

“Winning was so exciting,” Tatten said. “It means a lot. I am so grateful to be the face of the program. It’s hard to put into words.”

Tatten’s career as a shooter began at age 4, with his dad, Tim Allsup, teaching him the basics of shooting and safety. At age 10, he began competitive shooting with a local 4-H club. The following year, he received his first Distinguished Expert award from the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program, when he was just 11. After he joined the Junior High Rodeo Association, he learned to shoot from 50 yards in three positions (prone, kneeling and standing) and advanced to Nationals in his first year. He placed third in his second and third years.

Tatten’s shooting career took a turn for the worse when he entered the National High School Rodeo Association as a freshman in high school. Despite making it to the National level, he placed in the lowest ranking he ever shot in a match. After that, he lost his motivation and gave up the sport for a few months. However, the message “taking out the trash” brought him back to his feet. This message came from a novel called “Way of the Peaceful Warrior” by Dan Millman.

In Tatten’s 1,000-word essay, called “What the Shooting Sports has Taught Me … is to ‘Take Out the Trash,’” he explains the hardship he went through.

“I had hit rock bottom,” he said in the essay. “I had no desire to shoot, no coach, and no motivation so I put the guns away. It wasn’t until months later that I remember the message sent to me about ‘Taking Out the Trash.’ I had to clear my mind of the past, not think about the future, and perform for the moment. I began to shoot once more and added a new discipline to my shooting, air rifle.”

During his shooting sports career, Tatten has had two coaches — Charley Castillo and Major Bill Barker.

“I love them both,” he said. “They helped improve my shooting and are life mentors. Charley was like a grandpa to me and Barker elevated me to the next step.”

Tatten’s father and mother have also had an impact in his life.

“My dad has made the biggest impact in my life,” he said. “He always made me strive on and shoot my best. My mom always finds new help for me and pushes me to do my best.”

Born in Silver City, 18-year-old Tatten is a senior at Cliff High School. He plans to join the military after high school and pursue a career in aviation.

“It wasn’t a choice that his dad and myself would have chose,” Tasha said, “but he has always been patriotic and spoke about it for a long time.”

For folks who want to see Tatten in action, he will be shooting at the 23rd annual Dick Walter Shoot today and Sunday at the Southwestern Shotgunners Trap Club, south of Bayard, at 9 a.m. Not only will he be competing for money and trophies, he is doing it for his senior school project to help raise money for wreaths that will be placed on headstones at the Fort Bayard National Cemetery as part of Wreaths Across America Day in December.

“I have been helping with the placing of the wreaths for two years,” Tatten said in his flier. “Last year there were several headstones that did not receive a wreath. This is a small deed that makes me feel good while remembering the lives of those veterans that gave so much for us.”

Sponsors will pay $2 for each clay that Tatten hits. However, his aim must be on point, because for each clay that Tatten misses, that fee will drop down to $1. He will be shooting 200 clays in eight rounds and sponsors can pick any of the eight rounds. To sponsor, call 575-574-8035 or email all sup_tatton@yahoo.com.

“What I love about shooting,” Tatten says in his essay, “is that not only have I improved my accuracy and shooting skills over time but I have grown as a person with every perfect shot and every lost ‘flyer.’ I have learned not to stress over the little things like one missed shot or one bad match. This mentality has followed past my shooting career and into my other passions in life. It has helped with my drive, determination, discipline, commitment, concentration and most important, control of my life and my journey.”